SINGAPORE: In 2013, Tala Alamuddin Le Tallec was fined S$3,000 (RM9,177) and given a two-year driving ban for drunk driving – but that did not stop the Singapore permanent resident from doing the same thing earlier this year.
The 47-year-old did not have a driving licence and had taken her husband’s car without his consent.
When she was caught at about 2.30am on May 14, she had 95 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of her breath – more than twice the prescribed limit of 35 micrograms of alcohol.
On Monday, Le Tallec was sentenced to three weeks’ jail and ordered to pay a fine of S$6,400.
She was also disqualified from holding or getting all classes of driving licences for four years when she is released.
Her lawyer Shashi Nathan said in mitigation that she would have accepted a longer driving ban than the three years that the prosecution sought, because she has resolved not to drive anymore.
The mother-of-four pleaded guilty to three charges of drunk driving, driving without a licence and using a vehicle without insurance coverage. Another charge of driving without the owner’s consent was taken into consideration for sentencing.
Following her first drink-driving conviction in April 2013, she did not reapply for a Class 3 driving licence in Singapore.
Le Tallec, who lives in Singapore, is the older sister of Amal Clooney, a human rights lawyer who married American actor George Clooney in 2014.
Drank wine, champagne
The court heard that on May 14, she was driving her husband’s car along Holland Road in the direction of Ulu Pandan when she was stopped at a police roadblock.
She had drunk two glasses of wine and a glass of champagne earlier that evening with a friend at a restaurant in the Dempsey Hill dining enclave. Her friend was sitting next to her in the car when they were stopped.
The police officer noticed that Le Tallec appeared to be having trouble finding the handbrake. He also observed that she smelt strongly of alcohol and could not promptly answer where she had been before.
When he asked her to hand over her driving licence, she reached for her bag in the rear passenger seat. However, she then stepped on the accelerator pedal and the officer quickly alerted her to it.
After she provided her particulars, she was told that she would have to take a breathalyser test. She failed the test and was arrested.
As she was a repeat offender, she could have been jailed up to a year and fined between S$3,000 and S$10,000. – Today Online
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